Hi rifraf, I'm guessing you got the certified-correct 100% German owner's manual Should you actually want to read it in the Queen's English you can download the whole manual from the Rohloff web-page at no cost.

Meantime, anyone who wants the delights of a genuine German Rohloff manual, I have two for sale

Baalzamon wrote:It seems now that Rohloff are now doing a 36hole version of the hub. I ordered the 36 hole, disk braked, external mech for OEM dropouts. . I ordered the plain silver version as the extra cost for anodisation seemed a little excessive

Sweet...

Our Thorn tandem arrived yesterday in the ever popular bright yellow as we like to be visible.

WE also got the plain vanilla silver version for the same reason re the anodisation cost.

WE also specced the CSS hard coated rims with the blue pads and so far in the dry they do a magnificent job of stopping us with the XT V brakes.

Re the 36 spoke hub now available - in their current sales literature Thorn were full on that 32 hole hubs were adequate even for tandem use. It will be interesting to watch their brochures in future!

Make sure the wheels on your tandem are built by someone who knows what they are doing.On my recent trip i met a couple from Belgium, on a tandem who managed to break 4 rohloff hubs (cracked flanges or something from memory).Luckily for them rohloff just keeps sending them new hubs for now charge He mentioned he needs to re tension rear spokes every now and then so it seems the wheel is not built properly, i think!

Re tandem wheels - Thorn claim to have their rims drilled with a slight offset to reduce spoke bend at the Rohloff hub flanges.

There are a number of posters on CrazyGuy who have travelled long distances on Thorn built wheels with 32H Rohloff Hubs and I can only assume that Thorn know what they are doing in the wheel building dept.

The 48 spoke tandem wheels are designed for deraileur hubs which are significantly dished and whereas I might consider an upgrade to a 36H hub shell I reckon that 48 for an undished Rohloff is over the top.

Mike Ayling wrote:Re tandem wheels - Thorn claim to have their rims drilled with a slight offset to reduce spoke bend at the Rohloff hub flanges.

There are a number of posters on CrazyGuy who have travelled long distances on Thorn built wheels with 32H Rohloff Hubs and I can only assume that Thorn know what they are doing in the wheel building dept.

The 48 spoke tandem wheels are designed for deraileur hubs which are significantly dished and whereas I might consider an upgrade to a 36H hub shell I reckon that 48 for an undished Rohloff is over the top.

Mike

No argument from me Mike, as I know nothing about tandems and merely offered the page out of interest.I'm happy with my 36H version and am confident it should build into a wheel strong enough for my purposes.Now if I could only make up my mind about what frame........

il padrone wrote:So, Mike, how's the Thorn Rohloff tandem riding for you? Report/review of its performance and equipment would be great to read. Done any longer tours, or planning any?

Unfortunately Mary has been fighting a chest infection since we got the bike and the most she can manage at the moment is about 30km.

I am very impressed with the XT V brakes with the blue pads stopping the CSS rims, they are very powerful.

The Rohloff works well for us and I really enjoy no longer having to have to think about double deraileur changes when going for lower gears. We are riding 42X17 and it doesn't take much of a down hill to spin out but at our age we are not that much into fast descents anyway and the low gears are adequate.

A minor irritation that I discovered when I started to install the Tubus Duo racks that I use on the Surly is that the bosses on the Thorn are drilled for 6mm cap screws to support the Thorn proprietary front racks whereas the Tubus are drilled for 5mm cap screws. Some very careful drilling with a new sharp 6mm bit fixed the problem but I will have to keep an eye on them. Mind you we are not planning any heavy long distance touring loads so it should be OK.

No big trips planned, we would like to go to Adelaide when the weather gets a bit cooler and spend a week riding around the Fleurie area but I think the first overnighter will just be to take the train from Dandenong to Packenham then ride through to Drouin, not too onerous apart from the hill outside Longwarry.

Mary has never ridden a single bike and has only been riding tandem for about eighteen months so we are starting from a low base.

il padrone wrote:Mike, you must have been doing some good training miles. Fantastic leg definition there, especially for an older bloke

The tandem looks sensational. Love the brilliant yellow. With that double marathon design Thorn sure build them tough. Do you have an EBB at both ends?

Speaking of KBTC tandem riders, how is John Weller keeping these days? And Maureen, is she still riding?

Re leg muscles - the knicks are not as tight as they used to be but I try to ride as much as possible.

Double EBB - yes and it may be tricky to adjust but I guess that I do the back first then the front.

John and Maureen still ride but Maureen had a hip replacement and is not that mobile so they have a tandem with a low step through at the back. John gets around quite a bit on a leccy assisted single these days.

rifraf wrote:Great looking bike Mike,that tubing appears very stong and the yellow looks the business. Do you and Mary have any trips planned for when she's better?

See post on Jan 1, Rif Raf.

Mike

Mike Ayling wrote: Mind you we are not planning any heavy long distance touring loads so it should be OK.

No big trips planned, we would like to go to Adelaide when the weather gets a bit cooler and spend a week riding around the Fleurie area but I think the first overnighter will just be to take the train from Dandenong to Packenham then ride through to Drouin, not too onerous apart from the hill outside Longwarry.

Mary has never ridden a single bike and has only been riding tandem for about eighteen months so we are starting from a low base.

Mike

I really must look into those glasses the optometrist was waffling about......

Who is online

About the Australian Cycling Forums

The largest cycling discussion forum in Australia for all things bike; from new riders to seasoned bike nuts, the Australian Cycling Forums are a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.